Minimalist ranking lists

New Balance combines their technological expertise and years of experience under their belt to produce shoes of utmost quality and durability. In fact, shoes built by the company have been mentioned in more than 100,000 reviews which are concrete proof of their shoes’ undeniably great performance. The moment the runner laces one New Balance pair is the moment he experiences greatness at work.

What does New Balance offer in their best minimalist shoes?

New Balance minimalist shoes are packaged in lightweight and extremely flexible shoes. Built with less technological construction, these shoes allows flexibility on all sides, whether it is from side to side or from forefoot to heel.

Minimalist shoes produced by New Balance are available for track and trail enthusiasts alike. Both types of shoes are feather light and flexible. The main difference between the two would be the protection features and outsole configuration for the trail specific shoe. Protection is much needed on the trail for the runner’s safety while the more aggressive outsole of the trail shoe is for enhanced grip on mud, grass, rocky paths, and the more technical aspects of trail running.

The indispensable responsiveness that are craved by minimalists is also sufficiently provided for by New Balance. Their top of the line midsole foams practically does much of the heavy lifting when it comes to rebounding capabilities. These pads are extremely responsive without compromising weight.

True to their nature, New Balance minimalist shoes sit low to the ground for great tactile feedback. The low profile of these shoes eliminates hesitation when it comes to ground contact feel.

Mindful of the fact that there are varying degrees of minimalist runners out there, New Balance offers a range of choices. In its line are minimalist shoes that offer a bit of cushioning while there are those that have zero cushioning at all. Elite runners can get away with really bare shoes compared to beginners or runners who are in transition from the traditional to minimalist type of running.

Efficiency with each stride is achieved easily with a midfoot or forefoot strike. The minimal heel cushioning in most New Balance minimalist shoes would allow the runner to focus on a midfoot or forefoot strike. Once this happens, the runner normally picks up speed in his races or trainings.

The New Balance's best minimalist shoes would be the closest thing to barefoot running. When the runner gets used to these minimal shoes, his tendons and arches would be strengthened to tackle the more difficult barefoot runs.

What are the deciding features of the best New Balance minimalist shoes?

Structure. Structure, or the lack of it, is a general concept for minimalist shoes. New Balance offers only minimum or nothing at all stability or support features. Thus, it comes as hardly a surprise that the structure is almost skeletal.

Heel to Toe Drop. Heel to toe drop varies among the best New Balance minimalist shoes. There is the 4mm heel offset to zero heel differentials. The range of heel to toe difference in these shoes is excellent for ground feel.

Weight. Minimalist shoes are nothing but lightweight. It normally ranges from 7oz and lower for best performance.

Author

Jens Jakob Andersen

Jens Jakob is a fan of short distances with a 5K PR at 15:58 minutes. Based on 35 million race results, he's among the fastest 0.2% runners. Jens Jakob previously owned a running store, when he was also a competitive runner. His work is regularly featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, BBC and the likes as well as peer-reviewed journals. Finally, he has been a guest on +30 podcasts on running.

jens@runrepeat.com

This shoe has recently been added to RunRepeat. There are still not enough reviews for us to assign it a CoreScore.

CoreScore A score from 1 to 100 that summarizes opinions from users and experts. The average CoreScore is 78.
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